Clear understanding of the links between ecological functions and biodiversity is needed to asses... more Clear understanding of the links between ecological functions and biodiversity is needed to assess and predict the true environmental consequences of human activities. Several key ecosystem functions are provided by coprophagous beetles in the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), which feed on animal excreta as both adults and larvae. Through manipulating feces during the feeding process, dung beetles instigate a series of ecosystem functions ranging from secondary seed dispersal to nutrient cycling and parasite suppression. Many of these ecological functions provide valuable ecosystem services such as biological pest control and soil fertilization. Here we summarize the contributions of dung beetles to nutrient cycling, bioturbation, plant growth enhancement, secondary seed dispersal and parasite control, as well as highlight their more limited role in pollination and trophic regulation. We discuss where these ecosystem functions clearly translate into ecosystem services, outline areas in critical need of additional research and describe a research agenda to fill those gaps. Due to the high sensitivity of dung beetles to habitat modification and changing dung resources, many of these ecological processes have already been disrupted or may be affected in the future. Prediction of the functional consequences of dung beetle decline demands functional studies conducted with naturally assembled beetle communities, which broaden the geographic scope of existing work, assess the spatio-temporal distribution of multiple functions, and link these ecosystem processes more clearly to ecosystem services.
Experimental studies linking community composition to functioning are typically confined to small... more Experimental studies linking community composition to functioning are typically confined to small and closed micro- or mesocosms. Such restricted conditions may affect both species’ biology and their environment. Yet, targeting simple features in the behaviour of species may circumvent these constraints. Focusing on ecological functions provided by dung beetles, we test whether large, open-top cages – MESOCLOSURES – will intercept the flight trajectories of beetles, thereby allowing manipulation of local community composition.MESOCLOSURES were built in both tropical forest (Brazil) and temperate grasslands (Finland), thus testing their general efficiency. Within the respective environments, we varied different aspects of MESOCLOSURE design: in the tropical forest, we examined the impact of MESOCLOSURE dimensions on exclusion efficiency, whereas in the temperate grassland, we assessed the potential for selectively excluding and including community members by different mesh sizes. In the temperate environment, we also went from method to application, using MESOCLOSURES to relate community composition to functioning under two simulated grazing regimes.MESOCLOSURES allowed efficient manipulation of dung beetle communities, maintaining dung beetle densities at intended levels in both temperate and tropical systems. In the tropics, the smallest cages (1 × 1 m) offered the highest contrast in beetle densities inside vs. outside of the fence, whereas the largest cages (9 × 9 m) offered the lowest. Nonetheless, densities inside cages never exceed one-fifth of those outside. At the temperate site, manipulations of community structure through mesh size yielded significant differences in functioning and suggested an interaction between small dung-dwelling species and large tunnelling species. Within cages, higher grazing was reflected in augmented dung removal.We conclude that MESOCLOSURES can be effectively used to study dung beetle functions across habitats and latitudes. As applied insights, the present study adds resolution to the significance of different functional groups of dung beetles and shows that grazing pressure may have an important impact on the ecosystem functions that they provide. Overall, this study suggests that targeted manipulation of dispersal may offer new solutions for linking fauna to ecosystem functions with minimal impact on the processes measured.
Neste estudo, foi avaliada a invasão da comunidade de Scarabaeinae detritívoros de uma savana ama... more Neste estudo, foi avaliada a invasão da comunidade de Scarabaeinae detritívoros de uma savana amazônica pela espécie africana Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius 1787). O estudo foi realizado nas proximidades da vila de Alter do Chão (2º 31' S e 55º 00' W), localizada a aproximadamente 36 km a sudoeste de Santarém, Pará, Brasil. Vinte e duas áreas de savanas de 3,75 ha (250 x 150 m) distribuídas em 30.000 ha foram amostradas, no período de 21 de julho a 13 de agosto de 2003, utilizando 66 armadilhas de queda com três tipos de iscas (fezes bovinas, fezes humanas e carcaças). Foram encontrados indivíduos de D. gazella em quatro das vinte e duas áreas amostradas. Procurou-se explicar a presença da espécie nas áreas de savana através de análises de regressão logística, onde as variáveis explicativas foram: ocorrência de queimada nos últimos seis anos, diversidade e abundância total de Scarabaeidae nativos presentes na área, abundância de Canthon sp.1, (espécie de Scarabaeidae mais abundante na região). Exceto pela abundância total de indivíduos de Scarabaeidae nativos, nenhuma das variáveis bióticas e abióticas tiveram efeito estatisticamente significativo na presença do D. gazella. Estes resultados podem ser explicados por: (a) algum fator ainda não analisado, relacionado à invasão da área pelo D. gazella; (b) Não houve tempo para a dispersão e estabelecimento da espécie em todas as áreas; (c) A comunidade nativa de Scarabaeinae apresenta resistência à invasão pelo D. gazella.
Diversos estudos realizados no Norte de Portugal têm alertado para a ocorrência de carências de m... more Diversos estudos realizados no Norte de Portugal têm alertado para a ocorrência de carências de magnésio ou para a possibilidade de deficiente nutrição magnesiana nalgumas culturas. A partir de Julho--Agosto, pode observar-se a sintomatologia de carência de Mg em diversas zonas daquela região em culturas como o milho, em arbóreas e arbustivas, e ainda em espécies florestais.
Land-cover change and ecosystem degradation may lead to biotic homogenization, yet our understand... more Land-cover change and ecosystem degradation may lead to biotic homogenization, yet our understanding of this phenomenon over large spatial scales and different biotic groups remains weak. We used a multi-taxa dataset from 335 sites and 36 heterogeneous landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon to examine the potential for landscape-scale processes to modulate the cumulative effects of local disturbances. Biotic homogenization was high in production areas but much less in disturbed and regenerating forests, where high levels of among-site and among-landscape b-diversity appeared to attenuate species loss at larger scales. We found consistently high levels of b-diversity among landscapes for all land cover classes, providing support for landscape-scale divergence in species composition. Our findings support concerns that b-diversity has been underestimated as a driver of biodiversity change and underscore the importance of maintaining a distributed network of reserves, including remaining areas of undisturbed primary forest, but also disturbed and regenerating forests, to conserve regional biota.
Brazilian journal of biology = Revista brasleira de biologia, 2010
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of propagules source and the implicat... more The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of propagules source and the implication of tree size class on the spatial pattern of Xylopia brasiliensis Spreng. individuals growing under the canopy of an experimental plantation of eucalyptus. To this end, all individuals of Xylopia brasiliensis with diameter at soil height (dsh) > 1 cm were mapped in the understory of a 3.16 ha Eucalyptus spp. and Corymbia spp. plantation, located in the municipality of Lavras, SE Brazil. The largest nearby mature tree of X. brasiliensis was considered as the propagules source. Linear regressions were used to assess the influence of the distance of propagules source on the population parameters (density, basal area and height). The spatial pattern of trees was assessed through the Ripley K function. The overall pattern showed that the propagules source distance had strong influence over spatial distribution of trees, mainly the small ones, indicating that the closer the distance fro...
The accurate sampling of communities is vital to any investigation of ecological processes and bi... more The accurate sampling of communities is vital to any investigation of ecological processes and biodiversity. Dung beetles have emerged as a widely used focal taxon in environmental studies and can be sampled quickly and inexpensively using baited pitfalls. Although there is now a wealth of available data on dung beetle communities from around the world, there is a lack of standardisation between sampling protocols for accurately sampling dung beetle communities. In particular, bait choice is often led by the idiosyncrasies of the researcher, logistic problems and the dung sources available, which leads to difficulties for inter-study comparisons. In general, human dung is the preferred choice, however, it is often in short supply, which can severely limit sampling effort. By contrast, pigs may produce up to 20 times the volume. We tested the ability of human and pig dung to attract a primary forest dung beetle assemblage, as well as three mixes of the two baits in different proportions. Analyses focussed on the comparability of sampling with pig or human-pig dung mixes with studies that have sampled using human dung. There were no significant differences between richness and abundance sampled by each bait. The assemblages sampled were remarkably consistent across baits, and ordination analyses showed that the assemblages sampled by mixed dung baits were not significantly different from that captured by pure human dung, with the assemblages sampled by 10% and 90% pig mixes structurally most similar to assemblages sampled by human dung. We suggest that a 10:90 human:pig ratio, or similar, is an ideal compromise between sampling efficiency, inter-study comparability and the availability of large quantities of bait for sampling Amazonian dung beetles. Assessing the comparability of assemblage samples collected using different baits represents an important step to facilitating largescale meta-analyses of dung beetle assemblages collected using non-standard methodology.
Polygon clipping is an important operation that computers execute all the time. An algorithm that... more Polygon clipping is an important operation that computers execute all the time. An algorithm that clips a polygon is rather complex. Each edge of the polygon must be tested against each edge of the clipping window, usually a rectangle. As a result, new edges may be added, and existing edges may be discarded, retained, or divided. Multiple polygons may result from clipping a single polygon. After clipping, we may have a set of segments, which must be handled to generate the clipped polygon. This work proposes two new algorithms: clipping polygon against a rectangle window, and polygon reconstruction from a set of segments. The algorithms were implemented in Secondo, a platform for implementing and experimenting with various kinds of data models.
Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of... more Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of the ant communities (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). The responses of the ant community to environmental change, from forest fragment to agroecosystems (coffee or pasture) were evaluated in the south of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this paper we analized the interactions between forest and the two most typical agroecosystem from southest Brazil: sun-growing coffee plantation and introduced pasture. We sampled the ant community from five of each agroecosystems, inside the adjacent forest fragment, and on the edge between them. In each site we removed the litter from fifteen 1m 2 plots and extracted the ants using a Winkler extractor. A total of 165 ant species, distributed in 48 genera and 10 subfamilies were recorded. The coffee plantation presented the lowest abundance and estimated species richness. The causes of the changes observed among the areas are discussed.
A meso e a macrofauna do solo incluem uma variedade enorme de formas biológicas distintas, de dif... more A meso e a macrofauna do solo incluem uma variedade enorme de formas biológicas distintas, de diferentes ordens. Algumas são bastante conspícuas e desempenham papéis ecológicos com grande interface com a cultura humana e atividades econômicas. Contudo, estas funções ecológicas são influenciadas pelo uso da paisagem, e o cientista de solos deve estar atento a esses pequenos "engenheiros". Aqui, apresentamos um pouco mais sobre esses interessantes e diversos grupos de organismos. 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 156 512 1024 2 4 8 16 32 64 DIÂMETRO DO CORPO 1mm MICROFAUNA MESOFAUNA MACROFAUNA Nematoda Protozoa Rotifera Isoptera Diplura Acari Collembola Protura Symphylla Enchytraeidae Isopoda Opiliones Aranae Megadrili (minhocas) Coleoptera Mollusca Chilopoda Diplopoda O que é meso e macro-fauna do solo? Existem várias formas de classificar a biota do solo. O tamanho corporal geralmente é o critério básico, pois apresenta alguma relação com o tamanho do tubo digestivo e do aparelho bucal, mas também são levados em consideração aspectos da mobilidade, hábito alimentar e função que desempenham no solo. As classificações mais utilizadas envolvem a separação dos animais segundo seu diâmetro (Figura 1) ou comprimento. Usando o diâmetro (Ø) como base, a microfauna inclui microrganismos <0,2 mm, e seus representantes mais importantes são os nematoides e os protozoários.
RESUMO: A implantação de Unidades de Conservação tem sido uma das melhores formas de conservação ... more RESUMO: A implantação de Unidades de Conservação tem sido uma das melhores formas de conservação da biodiversidade. Regiões de maiores altitudes como as da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias, em Minas Gerais, possuem características físicas e bióticas que fazem destes ambientes detentores de espécies endêmicas e alta biodiversidade. Entretanto, são ambientes altamente susceptíveis aos processos erosivos acelerados, o que ocasiona a perda de solo, hábitat e espécies. Objetivou-se, com o presente estudo, avaliar as características físicas e bióticas da região da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias através de indicadores da Vulnerabilidade Natural e propor a implantação de uma Unidade de Conservação em regiões que são, consideradas por este índice, locais de elevada importância ambiental e que são altamente sensíveis às ações antrópicas. Os indicadores bióticos e abióticos gerenciados em um sistema de informações geográfi cas delimitaram áreas de maior vulnerabilidade na área de estudo e, devido à sensibilidade e abrangência áreas de maior vulnerabilidade na área de estudo e, devido à sensibilidade e abrangência da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias, foi proposta a implantação de um Parque Estadual. O índice de vulnerabilidade natural se mostrou uma ferramenta efi ciente na indicação de áreas a serem conservadas, reunindo fatores ambientais importantes, aumentando a efi ciência das estratégias de conservação.
Clear understanding of the links between ecological functions and biodiversity is needed to asses... more Clear understanding of the links between ecological functions and biodiversity is needed to assess and predict the true environmental consequences of human activities. Several key ecosystem functions are provided by coprophagous beetles in the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), which feed on animal excreta as both adults and larvae. Through manipulating feces during the feeding process, dung beetles instigate a series of ecosystem functions ranging from secondary seed dispersal to nutrient cycling and parasite suppression. Many of these ecological functions provide valuable ecosystem services such as biological pest control and soil fertilization. Here we summarize the contributions of dung beetles to nutrient cycling, bioturbation, plant growth enhancement, secondary seed dispersal and parasite control, as well as highlight their more limited role in pollination and trophic regulation. We discuss where these ecosystem functions clearly translate into ecosystem services, outline areas in critical need of additional research and describe a research agenda to fill those gaps. Due to the high sensitivity of dung beetles to habitat modification and changing dung resources, many of these ecological processes have already been disrupted or may be affected in the future. Prediction of the functional consequences of dung beetle decline demands functional studies conducted with naturally assembled beetle communities, which broaden the geographic scope of existing work, assess the spatio-temporal distribution of multiple functions, and link these ecosystem processes more clearly to ecosystem services.
Experimental studies linking community composition to functioning are typically confined to small... more Experimental studies linking community composition to functioning are typically confined to small and closed micro- or mesocosms. Such restricted conditions may affect both species’ biology and their environment. Yet, targeting simple features in the behaviour of species may circumvent these constraints. Focusing on ecological functions provided by dung beetles, we test whether large, open-top cages – MESOCLOSURES – will intercept the flight trajectories of beetles, thereby allowing manipulation of local community composition.MESOCLOSURES were built in both tropical forest (Brazil) and temperate grasslands (Finland), thus testing their general efficiency. Within the respective environments, we varied different aspects of MESOCLOSURE design: in the tropical forest, we examined the impact of MESOCLOSURE dimensions on exclusion efficiency, whereas in the temperate grassland, we assessed the potential for selectively excluding and including community members by different mesh sizes. In the temperate environment, we also went from method to application, using MESOCLOSURES to relate community composition to functioning under two simulated grazing regimes.MESOCLOSURES allowed efficient manipulation of dung beetle communities, maintaining dung beetle densities at intended levels in both temperate and tropical systems. In the tropics, the smallest cages (1 × 1 m) offered the highest contrast in beetle densities inside vs. outside of the fence, whereas the largest cages (9 × 9 m) offered the lowest. Nonetheless, densities inside cages never exceed one-fifth of those outside. At the temperate site, manipulations of community structure through mesh size yielded significant differences in functioning and suggested an interaction between small dung-dwelling species and large tunnelling species. Within cages, higher grazing was reflected in augmented dung removal.We conclude that MESOCLOSURES can be effectively used to study dung beetle functions across habitats and latitudes. As applied insights, the present study adds resolution to the significance of different functional groups of dung beetles and shows that grazing pressure may have an important impact on the ecosystem functions that they provide. Overall, this study suggests that targeted manipulation of dispersal may offer new solutions for linking fauna to ecosystem functions with minimal impact on the processes measured.
Neste estudo, foi avaliada a invasão da comunidade de Scarabaeinae detritívoros de uma savana ama... more Neste estudo, foi avaliada a invasão da comunidade de Scarabaeinae detritívoros de uma savana amazônica pela espécie africana Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius 1787). O estudo foi realizado nas proximidades da vila de Alter do Chão (2º 31' S e 55º 00' W), localizada a aproximadamente 36 km a sudoeste de Santarém, Pará, Brasil. Vinte e duas áreas de savanas de 3,75 ha (250 x 150 m) distribuídas em 30.000 ha foram amostradas, no período de 21 de julho a 13 de agosto de 2003, utilizando 66 armadilhas de queda com três tipos de iscas (fezes bovinas, fezes humanas e carcaças). Foram encontrados indivíduos de D. gazella em quatro das vinte e duas áreas amostradas. Procurou-se explicar a presença da espécie nas áreas de savana através de análises de regressão logística, onde as variáveis explicativas foram: ocorrência de queimada nos últimos seis anos, diversidade e abundância total de Scarabaeidae nativos presentes na área, abundância de Canthon sp.1, (espécie de Scarabaeidae mais abundante na região). Exceto pela abundância total de indivíduos de Scarabaeidae nativos, nenhuma das variáveis bióticas e abióticas tiveram efeito estatisticamente significativo na presença do D. gazella. Estes resultados podem ser explicados por: (a) algum fator ainda não analisado, relacionado à invasão da área pelo D. gazella; (b) Não houve tempo para a dispersão e estabelecimento da espécie em todas as áreas; (c) A comunidade nativa de Scarabaeinae apresenta resistência à invasão pelo D. gazella.
Diversos estudos realizados no Norte de Portugal têm alertado para a ocorrência de carências de m... more Diversos estudos realizados no Norte de Portugal têm alertado para a ocorrência de carências de magnésio ou para a possibilidade de deficiente nutrição magnesiana nalgumas culturas. A partir de Julho--Agosto, pode observar-se a sintomatologia de carência de Mg em diversas zonas daquela região em culturas como o milho, em arbóreas e arbustivas, e ainda em espécies florestais.
Land-cover change and ecosystem degradation may lead to biotic homogenization, yet our understand... more Land-cover change and ecosystem degradation may lead to biotic homogenization, yet our understanding of this phenomenon over large spatial scales and different biotic groups remains weak. We used a multi-taxa dataset from 335 sites and 36 heterogeneous landscapes in the Brazilian Amazon to examine the potential for landscape-scale processes to modulate the cumulative effects of local disturbances. Biotic homogenization was high in production areas but much less in disturbed and regenerating forests, where high levels of among-site and among-landscape b-diversity appeared to attenuate species loss at larger scales. We found consistently high levels of b-diversity among landscapes for all land cover classes, providing support for landscape-scale divergence in species composition. Our findings support concerns that b-diversity has been underestimated as a driver of biodiversity change and underscore the importance of maintaining a distributed network of reserves, including remaining areas of undisturbed primary forest, but also disturbed and regenerating forests, to conserve regional biota.
Brazilian journal of biology = Revista brasleira de biologia, 2010
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of propagules source and the implicat... more The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence of propagules source and the implication of tree size class on the spatial pattern of Xylopia brasiliensis Spreng. individuals growing under the canopy of an experimental plantation of eucalyptus. To this end, all individuals of Xylopia brasiliensis with diameter at soil height (dsh) > 1 cm were mapped in the understory of a 3.16 ha Eucalyptus spp. and Corymbia spp. plantation, located in the municipality of Lavras, SE Brazil. The largest nearby mature tree of X. brasiliensis was considered as the propagules source. Linear regressions were used to assess the influence of the distance of propagules source on the population parameters (density, basal area and height). The spatial pattern of trees was assessed through the Ripley K function. The overall pattern showed that the propagules source distance had strong influence over spatial distribution of trees, mainly the small ones, indicating that the closer the distance fro...
The accurate sampling of communities is vital to any investigation of ecological processes and bi... more The accurate sampling of communities is vital to any investigation of ecological processes and biodiversity. Dung beetles have emerged as a widely used focal taxon in environmental studies and can be sampled quickly and inexpensively using baited pitfalls. Although there is now a wealth of available data on dung beetle communities from around the world, there is a lack of standardisation between sampling protocols for accurately sampling dung beetle communities. In particular, bait choice is often led by the idiosyncrasies of the researcher, logistic problems and the dung sources available, which leads to difficulties for inter-study comparisons. In general, human dung is the preferred choice, however, it is often in short supply, which can severely limit sampling effort. By contrast, pigs may produce up to 20 times the volume. We tested the ability of human and pig dung to attract a primary forest dung beetle assemblage, as well as three mixes of the two baits in different proportions. Analyses focussed on the comparability of sampling with pig or human-pig dung mixes with studies that have sampled using human dung. There were no significant differences between richness and abundance sampled by each bait. The assemblages sampled were remarkably consistent across baits, and ordination analyses showed that the assemblages sampled by mixed dung baits were not significantly different from that captured by pure human dung, with the assemblages sampled by 10% and 90% pig mixes structurally most similar to assemblages sampled by human dung. We suggest that a 10:90 human:pig ratio, or similar, is an ideal compromise between sampling efficiency, inter-study comparability and the availability of large quantities of bait for sampling Amazonian dung beetles. Assessing the comparability of assemblage samples collected using different baits represents an important step to facilitating largescale meta-analyses of dung beetle assemblages collected using non-standard methodology.
Polygon clipping is an important operation that computers execute all the time. An algorithm that... more Polygon clipping is an important operation that computers execute all the time. An algorithm that clips a polygon is rather complex. Each edge of the polygon must be tested against each edge of the clipping window, usually a rectangle. As a result, new edges may be added, and existing edges may be discarded, retained, or divided. Multiple polygons may result from clipping a single polygon. After clipping, we may have a set of segments, which must be handled to generate the clipped polygon. This work proposes two new algorithms: clipping polygon against a rectangle window, and polygon reconstruction from a set of segments. The algorithms were implemented in Secondo, a platform for implementing and experimenting with various kinds of data models.
Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of... more Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of the ant communities (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). The responses of the ant community to environmental change, from forest fragment to agroecosystems (coffee or pasture) were evaluated in the south of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this paper we analized the interactions between forest and the two most typical agroecosystem from southest Brazil: sun-growing coffee plantation and introduced pasture. We sampled the ant community from five of each agroecosystems, inside the adjacent forest fragment, and on the edge between them. In each site we removed the litter from fifteen 1m 2 plots and extracted the ants using a Winkler extractor. A total of 165 ant species, distributed in 48 genera and 10 subfamilies were recorded. The coffee plantation presented the lowest abundance and estimated species richness. The causes of the changes observed among the areas are discussed.
A meso e a macrofauna do solo incluem uma variedade enorme de formas biológicas distintas, de dif... more A meso e a macrofauna do solo incluem uma variedade enorme de formas biológicas distintas, de diferentes ordens. Algumas são bastante conspícuas e desempenham papéis ecológicos com grande interface com a cultura humana e atividades econômicas. Contudo, estas funções ecológicas são influenciadas pelo uso da paisagem, e o cientista de solos deve estar atento a esses pequenos "engenheiros". Aqui, apresentamos um pouco mais sobre esses interessantes e diversos grupos de organismos. 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 156 512 1024 2 4 8 16 32 64 DIÂMETRO DO CORPO 1mm MICROFAUNA MESOFAUNA MACROFAUNA Nematoda Protozoa Rotifera Isoptera Diplura Acari Collembola Protura Symphylla Enchytraeidae Isopoda Opiliones Aranae Megadrili (minhocas) Coleoptera Mollusca Chilopoda Diplopoda O que é meso e macro-fauna do solo? Existem várias formas de classificar a biota do solo. O tamanho corporal geralmente é o critério básico, pois apresenta alguma relação com o tamanho do tubo digestivo e do aparelho bucal, mas também são levados em consideração aspectos da mobilidade, hábito alimentar e função que desempenham no solo. As classificações mais utilizadas envolvem a separação dos animais segundo seu diâmetro (Figura 1) ou comprimento. Usando o diâmetro (Ø) como base, a microfauna inclui microrganismos <0,2 mm, e seus representantes mais importantes são os nematoides e os protozoários.
RESUMO: A implantação de Unidades de Conservação tem sido uma das melhores formas de conservação ... more RESUMO: A implantação de Unidades de Conservação tem sido uma das melhores formas de conservação da biodiversidade. Regiões de maiores altitudes como as da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias, em Minas Gerais, possuem características físicas e bióticas que fazem destes ambientes detentores de espécies endêmicas e alta biodiversidade. Entretanto, são ambientes altamente susceptíveis aos processos erosivos acelerados, o que ocasiona a perda de solo, hábitat e espécies. Objetivou-se, com o presente estudo, avaliar as características físicas e bióticas da região da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias através de indicadores da Vulnerabilidade Natural e propor a implantação de uma Unidade de Conservação em regiões que são, consideradas por este índice, locais de elevada importância ambiental e que são altamente sensíveis às ações antrópicas. Os indicadores bióticos e abióticos gerenciados em um sistema de informações geográfi cas delimitaram áreas de maior vulnerabilidade na área de estudo e, devido à sensibilidade e abrangência áreas de maior vulnerabilidade na área de estudo e, devido à sensibilidade e abrangência da Serra de Carrancas e Luminárias, foi proposta a implantação de um Parque Estadual. O índice de vulnerabilidade natural se mostrou uma ferramenta efi ciente na indicação de áreas a serem conservadas, reunindo fatores ambientais importantes, aumentando a efi ciência das estratégias de conservação.
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Papers by Julio Louzada